Within the context of questioning many artistic structures, Improbable Connections wants to revindicate the essential role of the structures of art training, dissemination and production. Without them, it would be difficult for artists and thinkers, who contribute great value to society in general and a project such as Improbable Connections in particular, to continue researching and experiencing other ways of conceiving and constructing the world.

Anesvad Foundation + Carme Romero

Key words

Developed project: Alternativa 13

Alternativa 13 is an alternate reality game using role-playing elements and set in the everyday reality of each player, but in the year 2013. The ravaging effects of the current crisis, reaching its peak in 2013, can be followed in a digital newspaper, while the players are able to perform missions that affect this future reality.

Alternativa 13 is an experiment that aims to explore new ways of raising awareness to generate complex knowledge within the same context and based on issues that affect every person, ultimately moving them into action in a fun and interesting manner. The Anesvad Foundation is contributing by providing its experience for access to health by making available its working documents and processes and sharing its knowledge with the participants.

[january 2012] Results: tangible and intangible consequences of the process

The game will be launched to the public on 25 April 2012 and will be evaluated when it ends.The project to date has indeed implied an innovative approach that within the organisation has promoted collaboration between different people and departments that did not usually work together. It has also placed the NGO in contact with other organizations by establishing cooperation links.The questions raised during the process of designing the game led to in-depth discussions on issues such as cooperation work, communicating this work and the role of volunteers, among other issues. These questions are being raised from a different approach than that which is customary.

[may 2011] Draft project presented by Carme Romero Ruíz

Her proposal involves applying design techniques from the participation of interactive systems to achieve greater involvement of society in Anesvad campaigns. The project is based on studying the ethical implications of this application, proposing open debate for public participation in order to establish a professionally ethical base. Building upon this basis, work will be done on the design and development of actions and tools that are in line with the research.Blog of the project: http://anesvadconexionesimprobables.wordpress.com

[january 2011] Research requested by Anesvad

To involve society in the Anesvad Foundation project by encouraging the participation of the people making up its social base (some 70,000) in such a way that their contributions can go beyond that of the membership fee. In doing so, it also seeks to involve partners and collaborators, create synergies and open the project to others.

The Improbable project could be linked to opening the organisation to volunteers (the Foundation has had no volunteer programme to date) or to an open project available to all sectors of society.

Anesvad

The Anesvad Foundation is a non-governmental development organisation with over 40 years of experience in cooperation. It works to promote and protect health as a basic right and essentially to encourage social change to tackle the structural causes of poverty, inequality and social exclusion.

It is an international body and is currently present in 19 countries on the three poorest continents of the planet: Africa, Asia and Latin America. Its main areas of intervention are: Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD), Community Health, Mother-Child Health, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Human Trafficking.

The ANESVAD team involved in the improbable project consists of the following people: Human Resources Technician, Social Marketing Technician, Customer Services Technician, Communication and Marketing Technician and Project Technician, supported by the Social Marketing and Information and Awareness Manager, Communications Director and Human Resources Director.

Carme Romero Ruíz

Work areas: research and development of interactive media.

She studied Fine Arts in the Faculty of Barcelona and then specialised in the production of interactive art and the creation of video games (UPF). She carried out research as part of her thesis on the relationship between video games, research processes and the creation of knowledge. In terms of game design, she is interested in experimental game play and her work is carried out from an artistic perspective. She also explores compulsive phenomena relating consumerism with the construction of contemporary subjectivity.